Wonkblog hires Matt O'Brien as lead writer

3/27/14 10:21 AM EDT

The Washington Post's Wonkblog has added Matt O'Brien as its lead economic policy writer, the company announced in a memo on Thursday.

O'Brien joins from The Atlantic, where he is a senior associate editor covering business and economics.

"His sharp, authoritative writing on all things economic has drawn a growing following," a memo from editors Greg Schneider, David Cho and Renae Merle said. "Matt has a knack for capturing complicated truths in a catchy line or image."

Wonkblog has been undergoing a reinvention since the departure of Ezra Klein, who left to create an explanatory journalism site with Vox Media.

Earlier this month, the Post hired Reuters.com Deputy Editor Ryan McCarthy to run Wonkblog. Deputy business editor David Cho told our colleagues at Capital New York that the blog still has more hiring to do but plans to take its time.

“Over the next year or so, we will be evolving Wonkblog beyond what it is today — our ambitions are very high for the blog,” Cho said.